From A Woman's Perspective: March 23rd, 2024

Pricing Strategies for Home Sellers

Last week, Marilyn, I shared my top 10 things to do before selling your house. Today I’m going to share more valuable information in celebration of the spring selling season. 

When selling a home, I like to discuss the four Ps: preparation, pricing, presentation and promotion. To recap last week, we discussed the money-making home improvements that pay off at sale time. This information is all outlined in our booklet, “Best Renovations for Return on Investment,” that’s available through our website. Simple updates and cosmetic improvements can help you maximize the resale value of your home, and also shorten the time your property is on the market. 

Today, let’s move to the tricky business of pricing a home for sale. No doubt you’ve seen flyers in the mail or ads on bus shelters offering free property evaluations. There are even real estate apps that you can download that will provide you with estimates of value. But have you ever wondered how we arrive at an asking price for a property we list for sale? 

I use a triple check method of evaluating properties for sale. It all starts with gathering as many details about the subject property as possible: the age, number of bedrooms, square footage, lot size, etc. I also want to know what kind of upgrades or renovations you’ve done. Is the basement finished? Is there a pool in the yard? Has the kitchen ever been updated? This list of improvements is particularly important in homes that were built more than 30 years ago because the difference between the sale price of more original homes and those that have been renovated can be as much as $100,000 or $200,000. Sometimes more. 

Once the property questionnaire has been completed, it’s time for my market research to begin. First I want to see what is currently for sale in your neighbourhood to get a bede on the price point, sales strategy and current days on market for properties like yours. 

Then I look for properties that were recently sold. I take the time to look at the interior and exterior photos, and evaluate the level of renovation of each property. I’m searching for properties both sold and unsold that are closest in size and condition to yours. These are what we refer to as “comparables.” 

Sometimes there are no direct comparables for properties, or at least none that have sold recently. That’s when experience and economics matter. I will do the calculations and adjustments for appreciation to those historic listings to establish an estimate of a sale price in today’s market. 

Sounds complicated? It’s worth the effort, Marilyn, because pricing a home correctly is one of the most important things I do as a real estate professional. It’s crucial that I don’t recommend a price that is too high, in which case the property will likely sit on the market unsold, or too low, and my clients leave money on the table. 

By taking the time to do this research, I can provide the price range of what my clients can reasonably expect to sell their homes for. However, as I always caution, it’s not me or the sellers who decide so-called “fair market value” but the buyers. It’s the market that ultimately determines what a property is worth.

Pricing a home is only the starting point. There’s much that must be done to ensure the highest sale price in the shortest time possible is achieved. The next “P” in our house selling strategy is “presentation” and we will cover that in more detail next week.

I’d like to end with an offer for my booklet called, “Pricing Strategies for Homesellers.” It’s available on my website smartrealtysolution.com or by calling me at 416-460-5636. 

And...if you’re curious about the market value of your property, reach out, and I can help with that too.

Here's the link for the seller questionnaire: Seller Questionnaire Link

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